Buses will replace train
service for Long Island Rail Road customers traveling between Long Beach and
Valley Stream the weekend of March 20-21 as work continues on the construction
of two new railroad bridges over Powell Creek and Hog Island Channel.

The $24.5 -million
project, which is funded through the MTA Capital Budget and federal grants,
will also require train outages on three other weekends, including March 27-28,
May 1-2 and May 15-16. Each of these weekends will be preceded by a public
notification so that LIRR Long Beach Branch customers can plan ahead. The
Railroad's goal is to complete the installation of both bridges before Memorial
Day.

Both the Powell Creek
Bridge (located between the LIRR's East Rockaway and Oceanside stations) and
the Hog Island Channel Bridge (located between Oceanside and Island Park) were
built in the 1920s, and have served the LIRR well for nearly 90 years. These
two bridges are being replaced as part of the railroad's ongoing efforts to
modernize its infrastructure and ensure safe and reliable service for our
customers and neighbors for decades to come.

The existing Powell Creek
and Hog Island Bridges are open-deck wooden and steel structures supported by
wooden piles. These structures will be removed and replaced with pre-cast
concrete structures, supported by reinforced concrete-filled, steel pipe piles,
which will provide safer, closed-deck concrete roadbeds.

The project will also
alleviate a recurring flooding condition at Powell Creek Bridge, which has at
times led to delays and temporary service suspensions, by raising the elevation
of the bridge by approximately one foot. Bridge walkways will also be installed
at both locations to make it safer for LIRR employees.